Batman Stands Pat (2) - S1-E14
Continuity mistake: At the end, as Bruce Wayne speaks to Magda, he's standing with his arms at his sides. When the shot cuts, his hands are suddenly clasped in front of him. (00:23:30)
Continuity mistake: In close-up, Bruce Wayne folds his newspaper in half, leaving the folded edge facing the camera. The shot cuts to a wider view and immediately, the paper has reversed positions in his hand. (00:04:00)
Continuity mistake: When Batman and Robin crash through the window, there's no glass left in the frame - at least not until the next shot, when several large shards that weren't there before suddenly appear at the edges. (00:11:50)
Batman Stands Pat (2) - S1-E14
Visible crew/equipment: When Mad Hatter is sending Lisa in to butter up Mr. Bowinkle, the microphone shadow is bobbing up and down above their heads. (00:11:25)
Smack in the Middle (2) - S1-E2
Continuity mistake: Just after the Joker tells the fake Robin to turn on her homing beacon, a quick shot of the Batmobile approaching shows it isn't glossy black with cherise red trim as normal, but is instead flat black with white trim. This footage was from pre-series testing, painting the car different ways to see how it would look best on film, but somehow this footage was actually used in the episode by mistake. (00:06:20)
Factual error: Though he's a bastion of knowledge and a member of the museum board, Bruce Wayne completely mangles Egyptian history - twice. He says that King Tut ruled in the 14th Dynasty, and that the museum's mummy was a 14th Dynasty king who ruled in 1500 BC. Wrong on both counts. Tut reigned from 1336-1349 BC. The 14th Dynasty ran from 1773-1650 BC. Wayne would have known that - and so would his well-educated colleagues, none of whom points out the error. (00:13:00 - 00:15:00)
The Riddler's False Notion (2) - S1-E32
Continuity mistake: When the Riddler has a blindfolded Robin out on the window ledge, the position of Robin's blindfold changes between shots, from covering his nose entirely to being just above it.
The Joker Trumps an Ace (1) - S1-E25
Continuity mistake: The Joker reveals himself by throwing off his cape, which drops to the floor behind him. But when the shot cuts, the cape instantly disappears. (00:00:50)
Not Yet, He Ain't (2) - S1-E22
Factual error: When the Penguin steals the Batmobile, Batman spies on him from a tiny camera he says is hidden behind the car's fuel gauge. But the picture he and Robin are viewing has been shot from several feet away from the car, not from inside it. (00:11:15)
Not Yet, He Ain't (2) - S1-E22
Continuity mistake: Penguin loads all his loot into the stolen Batmobile - so much loot that the trunk can't close. Yet in the very next shot, as he drives away, the trunk has somehow shut itself. (00:17:30)
Other mistake: Riddler says that his "universal wax solvent" can eat through anything. Which begs the question, just what is that vat he cooks the stuff up in made of? We see the wax burn through solid steel vault doors. So it also ought to be eating through the vat, the floor and the bedrock, and sizzling its way down to the Earth's core. (00:07:00)
He Meets His Match, the Grisly Ghoul (2) - S1-E16
Continuity mistake: In the bistro, Batman thwarts Joker's booby-trapped juke box by whipping out his bat shield. Afterward, he places the shield on the floor behind him. In the next shot, as he turns around, the shield has disappeared. He and Robin race off without retrieving it. (00:15:00)
Batman Makes the Scenes (2) - S1-E34
Revealing mistake: While Batman and Robin are being held in Penguin's vacuum room, some of the stunt's dark squibs attached to the balloons become visible during this scene. We can even see a squib spark on the last pink balloon. (00:02:15)
The Thirteenth Hat (1) - S1-E13
Visible crew/equipment: When Hatter is at Octave Marbot's studio posing as him, Batman and Robin arrive, and chalk T-marks are visible on the floor near Batman's statue in the studio. Then while Batman is in the dressing room, Hatter quietly opens the studio's front door, and more chalk T-marks are visible on the floor in the hall. (00:18:40)
Batman Stands Pat (2) - S1-E14
Visible crew/equipment: When Batman and Robin use the Batmobile's Detect-a-scope to locate Turkey's bowler, as Batman notes that Hatter's hideout must be in the old warehouse, the reflection of the boom pole/mic is visible at the right side of the Batmobile's bubble windshield. (00:16:55)
Batman Sets the Pace (2) - S1-E26
Visible crew/equipment: When Alfred whispers to Bruce about the Batphone, the boom mic is visible over Alfred at the top of the screen. (00:23:20)
True or False-Face (1) - S1-E17
Visible crew/equipment: After Albert answers the Batphone it cuts to Bruce and Dick sitting at the table. We can see a chalk T-mark on the floor near Dick, and a white tape mark on the floor near Bruce. Then, when Harriet walks in another white tape mark becomes visible on the floor by her feet. (00:03:35)
Continuity mistake: When Robin parks the Batmobile while Batman heads into the disco, Robin raises the radar antenna on the hood to spin and provide a good signal. But in the shot from behind Robin, as he lifts the dash Batscope cover, the radar antenna is still in its original position and hasn't been raised, but the Batscope visuals are working perfectly. It happens again, when Robin watches on the Batscope as Batman begins to collapse from the spiked OJ, the radar antenna hasn't been raised at all. (00:16:50)
Batman Stands Pat (2) - S1-E14
Visible crew/equipment: When the Dynamic Duo trace Turkey's bowler to Mad Hatter's lair, they proceed to climb the wall. Then Hatter tells his goons to get into place for the trap, and in the next overhead shot there's a white chalk T-mark on the floor near Mad Hatter, at the right side of the screen. (00:17:45)
When the Rat's Away the Mice Will Play (2) - S1-E12
Visible crew/equipment: While Robin is "fiddling with the atomic pile" up on the scaffolding in the Batcave, Commissioner Gordon calls Batman to ask if he'd been to Gordon's office earlier, and in the overhead shot of Gordon's office there are two white tape marks visible under the desk, with one at Gordon's feet. (00:17:45)
Answer: It's wasn't unusual for multiple actors to play one character on this show. The villains on the TV Batman were played by guest stars, not regular cast members. George Sanders, Otto Preminger, and Eli Wallach played the part at various times. They may simply have only wanted to play the part once or twice, or they were later tied up with other projects, making it necessary to cast someone else. Other characters, like Catwoman, were also played by more than one actress.
raywest ★